Lunch Time Research Seminar
Title: Using Evidence to Advance Equity in Early Care and Education: A Focus on Head Start Boys of Color
Presenter: Nikki Aikens Ph. D
Objectives: By the end of this presentation, participants will:
1.Learn about motivations for advancing equity in early care and education settings and systems, with a focus on boys of color.
2. Understand research approaches for advancing equity, including use of a resiliency framework for understanding the resources of Head Start boys of color.
3. Identify future practice, policy, and research directions for advancing equity for boys of color.
Date: April 20, 12:15-1:45 pm, Hybrid – Online and Rm 2E06
Biography: Nikki Aikens, a principal researcher at Mathematica, is an expert in early care and education (ECE) programs focused on young children and their families. She specializes in descriptive and evaluation studies in ECE settings, and has informed decisions regarding instrumentation, analysis, and reporting for national and local studies of Head Start, Early Head Start, and other childcare settings. Her work also includes evaluations of place-based initiatives and studies focused on supports for systems change. She is interested in advancing equity in access, services, and outcomes in ECE programs, especially for children of color, dual language learners, and children from households experiencing poverty. Aikens, who joined Mathematica in 2006, holds a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.